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Stephen Frears
Director 85 years old

Stephen Frears

Leicester, England, UK

Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is an English director and producer. He has directed numerous acclaimed films since the early 1980s, including My Beautiful Laundrette (1985), Dangerous Liaisons (1988), The Grifters (1990), High Fidelity (2000), The Queen (2006),... Read full bio →

Directed Films

Every film this person directed

26 titles
The Lost King

The Lost King

Stephen Frears 2022 1h 48m 8.0

An amateur historian defies the stodgy academic establishment in her efforts to find King Richard III's remains, which were lost for over 500 years.

Victoria & Abdul

Victoria & Abdul

Stephen Frears 2017 1h 52m 6.0

Queen Victoria strikes up an unlikely friendship with a young Indian clerk named Abdul Karim.

Florence Foster Jenkins

Florence Foster Jenkins

Stephen Frears 2016 1h 50m 7.3

The story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress, who dreamed of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible singing voice.

The Program

The Program

Stephen Frears 2015 1h 43m 4.0

An Irish sports journalist becomes convinced that Lance Armstrong's performances during the Tour de France victories are fueled by banned substances. With this conviction, he starts hunting for evidence that will expose Armstrong.

Philomena

Philomena

Stephen Frears 2013 1h 38m 6.6

A woman searches for her adult son, who was taken away from her decades ago when she was forced to live in a convent.

Lay the Favorite

Lay the Favorite

Stephen Frears 2012 1h 34m 6.0

A former stripper's talent with numbers lands her a job with a professional gambler who runs a sports book in Las Vegas.

Tamara Drewe

Tamara Drewe

Stephen Frears 2010 1h 51m 6.8

A young newspaper writer returns to her hometown in the English countryside, where her childhood home is being prepped for sale.

Chéri

Chéri

Stephen Frears 2009 1h 26m 6.8

A sumptuous dramatic comedy set in late 19th Century France, during the Belle Epoque, a period of social and cultural excess in European upper classes which ended only as the First World War erupted. (It is NOT set in 1920s as the IMDb synopsis says.

The Queen

The Queen

Stephen Frears 2006 1h 43m 7.2

The Queen is an intimate behind the scenes glimpse at the interaction between HM Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair during their struggle, following the death of Diana, to reach a compromise between what was a private tragedy for the Royal family and the public's demand for an overt display of mourning.

Mrs Henderson Presents

Mrs Henderson Presents

Stephen Frears 2005 1h 43m 6.9

Eccentric 70-year-old widow purchases the Windmill Theatre in London as a post-widowhood hobby. After starting an innovative continuous variety review, which is copied by other theaters, they begin to lose money. Mrs Henderson suggests they add female nudity similar to the Moulin Rouge in Paris

The Deal

The Deal

Stephen Frears 2003 1h 30m 5.0

Follows the rise to power of Tony Blair, and his friendship and rivalry with his contemporary, Gordon Brown.

Dirty Pretty Things

Dirty Pretty Things

Stephen Frears 2002 1h 37m 8.0

An undocumented immigrant finds a human heart in one of the toilets of the west London hotel where he works with other undocumented immigrants.

Liam

Liam

Stephen Frears 2000 1h 30m 6.0

A morality tale of xenophobia, religious prejudice, mob violence, poverty, and their effect on two children in Liverpool during the Depression. When a shipyard closes, Liam and Teresa's dad loses his job. Liam, who's about 8, making his first Holy Communion, gets a regular dose of fire and brimstone at church.

High Fidelity

High Fidelity

Stephen Frears 2000 1h 53m 8.1

High Fidelity is the film version of the Nick Hornby novel telling the story of a record store owner, Rob Gordon, and the breakup with his girlfriend he had for many years and his current life/love crisis. Gordon. played by John Cusack, reviews and reunites with the ‘Top 5’ girls from his past relationships accompanied by a stellar soundtrack.

The Hi-Lo Country

The Hi-Lo Country

Stephen Frears 1998 1h 54m

An intimate story of the enduring bond of friendship between two hard-living men, set against a sweeping backdrop: the American West, post-World War II, in its twilight. Pete and Big Boy are masters of the prairie, but ultimately face trickier terrain: the human heart.

The Van

The Van

Stephen Frears 1996 1h 40m 7.0

In a working-class quarter of Dublin, 'Bimbo' Reeves gets laid off from his job and, with his redundancy payout, buys a van and sells fish and chips with his buddy, Larry.

Mary Reilly

Mary Reilly

Stephen Frears 1996 1h 48m 7.5

A housemaid falls in love with Dr. Jekyll and his darkly mysterious counterpart, Mr. Hyde.

The Snapper

The Snapper

Stephen Frears 1993 1h 35m

Sharon Curley is a 20-year-old living with her parents and many brothers and sisters in Dublin. When she gets pregnant and refuses to name the father, she becomes the talk of the town.

Hero

Hero

Stephen Frears 1992 1h 57m 7.7

Bernie Laplante is having a rough time. He's divorced, his ex-wife hates him and has custody of their son, the cops are setting a trap for him, then to top it all, he loses a shoe whilst rescuing passengers of a crashed jet.

The Grifters

The Grifters

Stephen Frears 1990 1h 50m 7.3

Based on the pulp novel by Jim Thompson, this neo-noir film tells the story of Lilly Dillon, a long-time female con artist who begins to rethink her life when her son Roy, also a grifter, suffers an almost-fatal injury when he is beaten after a failed scam.

Dangerous Liaisons

Dangerous Liaisons

Stephen Frears 1988 1h 59m 8.3

Dangerous Liaisons is the film based on the novel of the same name by Choderlos de Laclos set in 18th century France. Marquise de Merteuil’s asks her ex-lover Vicomte de Valmont to seduce the future wife of another ex-lover of hers in return for one last night with her. Yet things don’t go as planned in this love triangle drama.

Prick Up Your Ears

Prick Up Your Ears

Stephen Frears 1987 1h 51m 8.0

This film is the story of the spectacular life and violent death of British playwright Joe Orton.

My Beautiful Laundrette

My Beautiful Laundrette

Stephen Frears 1985 1h 38m 8.0

A young Pakistani Briton manages a rundown laundrette with his lover while dealing with tension in his family, the local Pakistani community, and a persistent mob of skinheads.

The Hit

The Hit

Stephen Frears 1984 1h 38m 7.3

Ex-gangster Willie Parker has betrayed his former "colleagues" and now lives in Spain where he thinks he can hide from their vengeance...

Bloody Kids

Bloody Kids

Stephen Frears 1979 1h 31m

Two young boys enact a mock fight outside a football ground as a joke, but it goes wrong when one of them is injured. While the victim recovers in hospital, the other boy attempts to hide from the police.

Gumshoe

Gumshoe

Stephen Frears 1971 1h 28m 6.0

A would be private eye gets mixed up in a smuggling case.

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